Worth noting here that Lombardi refers to "Senior Bowl chatter". He didn't quote a source - named or unnamed - he just said Orton to the Redskins was the chatter at the Senior Bowl.

So is that chatter as speculation amongst league execs, or is that chatter coming right out of the Shanahans, or what. The nature of the source is key to lending legitimacy to the rumor. From what Lombardi said here I don't get the sense this is a rumor that has a lot of legs.

I'm not surprised since we gave Denver a call when it was made known they were shopping him. If we pick him up, you can forget trading up for RGIII. This means we'll be moving back and picking up a developmental QB.

__________________ "So let me get this straight. We have the event of the year on TV with millions watching around the world... and people want a punt, pass, and kick competition to be the halftime entertainment?? Folks, don't quit your day jobs."- Matty

Worth noting here that Lombardi refers to "Senior Bowl chatter". He didn't quote a source - named or unnamed - he just said Orton to the Redskins was the chatter at the Senior Bowl.

So is that chatter as speculation amongst league execs, or is that chatter coming right out of the Shanahans, or what. The nature of the source is key to lending legitimacy to the rumor. From what Lombardi said here I don't get the sense this is a rumor that has a lot of legs.

League execs are linking the Redskins to all sorts of veterans, because it would seem implausible that the Redskins can acquire a rookie who they feel confident in leaving their jobs in the hands of. So based on that logic, I would just assume the source of the Orton rumors are coming from outside the Redskins organization.

You can pretty much replace Orton with any of the following: Chad Henne/Rex Grossman/Alex Smith/Sage Rosenfels/Brady Quinn/Shaun Hill and have a pretty good idea of where the Redskins are going to go this offseason. They're going to kick the tires on Hoyer, et al, and if they can't pry him/them loose with minimal draft pick involvement, it's going to be a veteran.

Orton is the biggest name on that list, but I wouldn't rule out the newfound credibility an Alex Smith signing could bring if the idea is to buy as much time as possible with an offseason move. Smith isn't a flashy name, but his stock has never been higher.

__________________ according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

I remember watching the Denver/SD game early in the season. I thought Orton played well, but his receivers and the defense were playing like crap. Personally, I don't think getting Orton will prevent us for going after Luck or RG3.